I’m not really a rock and roll kinda guy (does loving Liza Minnelli’s beyond-mind-exploding cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” for Sex and the City 2 count? Yeah, I didn’t think so. And to head off the snark, yes, I do know that “Single Ladies” isn’t rock and roll. I’m being funny here, people!). So I think it’s quite interesting that my last two theater outings had been rock and roll themed, one directly, the other very loosely. A couple of weeks ago, I was at Signal Ensemble Theater’s Aftermath, one of the best reviewed shows currently playing, a world premiere play from Artistic Director Ronan Marra about the original leader of the Rolling Stones, Brian Jones, who met a young, untimely death. Last weekend, I was out supporting TUTA Theater Chicago, where I’m a Board Member (that’s my standard full disclosure statement), for the opening night of the second show of the season, Bertolt Brecht’s first, and because of all the revisions and updating he made throughout his lifetime, last, play, Baal, about a free-wheeling hedonistic young man who magnetizes both sexes, usually interpreted and staged as a metaphor for the destructiveness of the rock and roll culture. And despite being such a Sondheim-lovin’ showtunes diva, I can heartily recommend both.
Francis’s Fall Picks: Top 10 Must-See Productions in Chicago
Culture, Dance, Music, Theater Add comments
For anyone outside of Boystown and Andersonville, there is so much more going on this fall in Chicago than the Madonna concert (which, for those of you who have just come back to the city from the island of Tuvalu, is scheduled for October 26-27 at the United Center). Everyone (well, the Chicago Tribune and TimeOut Chicago that is) have made up their lists of the top fall live performances (theater, opera, dance) that they recommend you attend, which is a good thing – it’s both the blessing and the bane of living in a great, lively, cultural center like Chicago, that you can go to see a show every night, and still not see it all, so guidance is imperative (plus the fact that no one really has an unlimited art consumption spending budget) . Here then, in no particular order, are From the Ledge’s picks for the must-see performing arts events of the fall – they’re an eclectic lot, showcasing both the best efforts of local Chicago talent as well as top international artists making pitstops in our wonderful town, confirming our stature in the global artistic community. Varied in discipline, theme, and artistic approach, they all, nevertheless, promise exciting, memorable, uniquely impactful nights at the theater. I’ll be at all of them, so if you see me, say hi!
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